How to Make Your Own Sumotori Stage

Sumo is more than just fat, grunting men in loincloths, as it might appear to Western eyes. In Japan, it's a venerated sport that dates back centuries and involves a high degree of self-dedication and athleticism. Sumo wrestlers, or sumotori as they're called in Japanese, must adhere to a strict regimen of diet, discipline and exercise in order to compete. The sport itself is also strict in its standardization of the size and design of sumo stages or rings.

Instructions

    • 1

      Mark off using chalk a circle with a diameter of 14.8 feet, the regulation size for a sumo stage.

    • 2

      Fill the circle with bales of bound rice straw about 1 foot high. You can use bound hay bales if rice straw is unavailable.

    • 3

      Pack the bales as tightly as possible so there is no space between bales.

    • 4

      Cover the top of the stage with a layer of fine sand about 6 inches thick.

    • 5

      Place mats or some other protective layer around the perimeter of the stage to cushion against injury if a sumotori is pushed out of the ring.